I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a collapsible staircase, notably for a vehicle such as an aircraft.
II. Description of Related Art
In vehicles, and in particular aircraft, it is advisable to save space. This is a constant concern of the person skilled in the art. The saved space makes it possible to increase the comfort of the passengers and/or to decrease the overall dimensions, so that the size and thus also the weight of the vehicle structure can be reduced. If more space is offered to the passengers, the company operating this vehicle achieves a commercial advantage. If the structure is smaller and/or lighter, the advantage is then manifested in operating costs.
A staircase is a convenient means making it possible to move from one level to another. It has the disadvantage of being cumbersome. Documents FR 2873349 or US 2006/113427 show, for example, a use of a staircase in an aircraft. To limit the space requirement, a traditional solution is to replace a staircase by a ladder, as suggested in the aforesaid documents. This can be moved around more easily. There also exist collapsible staircases that can be stored in a ceiling, for example by pivoting. To limit the space requirement, it is also known to make staircases steeper, or in other words with a greater inclination than a traditional staircase.
The present invention then has the objective of providing a staircase intended more particularly for a vehicle, that will not encroach either on an aisle or the like intended for the passage of passengers into the vehicle or on the storage volume usually available in the said vehicle.